Book Review: Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time

This book review is part of a series that covers the topic of Success Principles, which are the methods and attitudes people utilize to achieve great levels of success and change their lives. These principles are often very easy to apply to your everyday life. Keith Matthew is the Official Guide to Success Principles.nnFierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time, by Susan Scott, Ken Blanchard (Foreword by), is a valuable resource for people interested in Success Principles, and it is available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.nnAmazon.comnSusan Scott believes that interpersonal difficulties--at work and at home--are a direct result of our inability to communicate well. Fierce Conversations is based on principles from her international consulting practice, in which she teaches executives how to conduct such exchanges more dynamically and ultimately more effectively, thereby improving the relationships they enjoy with their various dialogue partners "one conversation at a time." Using identifiable anecdotes from her experience to inspire and inform, along with a series of practical exercises designed to impart the requisite skills, Scott walks readers through the individual steps she's developed to build better associations through more robust and honest discourses. Addressing all aspects of the process, from several methods for listening more attentively to specific ways she's fashioned to confront and resolve issues "that stand between you and success," Scott offers the type of concrete advice and confidence-building counsel that should help even the most reticent improve their communication skills dramatically. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. nnFrom Publishers WeeklynAn offshoot of Scott's international consulting firm, Fierce Conversations Inc., this book lasts as long as a Monday morning shuttle. Yet its thesis, that relationships both professional and personal hinge on how conversations go, and that the best conversations require determinedly gentle honesty and a willingness to listen, lingers long enough to make an impact. "It takes a certain fearlessness to make your private thoughts public. But if what you're thinking makes you squirm and wish to wriggle away, you are probably onto something," she says. On the book's Web site, a streaming-video talk feels fake and rehearsed. But Scott's written words contain substance and, as an author, she's levelheaded and funny. She quotes a wide variety of writers, from Ernest Hemingway to Maya Angelou to Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and clearly explains her key concepts, including "obey your instincts" and "let silence do the heavy lifting." Careerist marketing ploy it may be, but this cleanly written, if cliche-laden, book boasts enough psychological sensitivity to merit success. Those whose conversations with co-workers or family members aren't producing the results they want will find plenty of helpful tools and assignments in this succinct guide.nCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.